Snare muting or snare modifying devices are known to be broadly old as shown in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.
DuLany: 974,647 PA1 Jay: 1,265,917 PA1 VanValkenburg: 1,281,107 PA1 Ludwig: 1,832,227 PA1 Lebow: 2,078,004 PA1 Thompson: 3,635,119